


A matter of names

by Shibakamiko



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Tickling, basically just some cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-08-02 03:21:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16297238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shibakamiko/pseuds/Shibakamiko
Summary: Hisos have their name written down on their belly. Well, good for them.Noctis wouldn't have complained... if them, and his definitely way too cute partner, hadn't decided that he had to fit into that weird custom.And if he wasn't that ticklish, too.





	A matter of names

            This world made… _absolutely no sense_. Having been through some particularly twisted shit in his life so far, Noctis considered himself able to deem when something was logical or not. And definitely, that odd place that looked more like an unfinished video game than anything else, with its no less odd white… _things_ … speaking their own name as a form of language (what _were_ they, fucking _Pokémons?!_ ), held a high place on his weirdness scale.

As he stood there, wondering for the umpteenth time what the heck he was supposed to do to get back home, he could only admire Sarah’s patience with that whole mess. There she was, kneeling in front of the… white beans people… and apparently conversing with them – even though he could only understand her side of the conversation, which didn’t help him grasp the bigger picture.

            “…no… really? You think? … that didn’t cross my mind, but I understand your point… Hm-hm. Definitely.”

Well… he could stay there and listen to her voice all day, to be honest. She had quite the cute tone. Quite the cute everything, actually. Part of her reminded him of Prompto for the energy. Some other details revealed a dash of Ignis – probably her teacher self coming out from time to time. She was brave and knew how to fight, which was always a bonus to earn the prince’s respect. And her overall bearing felt like a mix of both Lunafreya and Iris, elegant yet playful.

Shortly put… she was amazing. Even if they just met, he could see that alright.

In that mess, he could at least thank the Six or that… Great Tree thingy for teaming him up with her. It could have been way worse. He could have ended up all alone with that tribe of living marshmallows.

            “What are you guys talking about?” Stepping closer, he gave her a questioning look. “I thought we had a monster to slaughter?”

The girl’s eyes glimmered as she looked up at him and offered a most adorable smile. “Oh! We do! I was just trying to learn more about the Hiso people. For scientific purposes, you know? They are truly fascinating!”

‘Fascinating’ wasn’t exactly the adjective Noctis himself would have used in that particular case, but… the way she said that? With all the excitement and childish hype? He had to admit, it was incredibly endearing, and he caught himself smiling back at her without even realizing it.

            “Oh yeah? And what did you learn?”

            “Weeeell, for example…”

Holding her hands behind her back, she began pacing around him with a spring in her step.

            “They all have their name written on their body, right? It is an absolute rule for their kind. You cannot consider yourself a Hiso if you don’t have it.”

Ah yes. He did notice that, and classified it as damn weird too in the very next second. This was taking middle school clothes marking to another level entirely. A whole people, with the same name written on them? What was the point?? It wasn’t like they could forget it, they kept yelling it all the time!

            “Really?” Still, she seemed to appreciate that discovery, and he didn’t have the heart to ruin it for her. Feigning interest with her was, surprisingly, easier than his pitiful tries while listening to his adviser’s strategy lessons. “That’s something.”

            “Yes!” Her lips formed another smile, pure and innocent, and… _wait-wait-wait_ how did heart attacks start? Because he sure felt some abnormal squeezing in his chest just then??

            “And actually…” she continued, oblivious to his puzzled expression, “the fact that we don’t have names on us makes them terribly confused.”

            “R-really.” Oops. Repeating yourself there Noct… not his fault his concentration was slipping though. He cleared his throat, trying to focus on her words rather than just _her_ , but her radiant smile seemed to trap his attention all the time. Plus, said smile seemed to grow even wider every time their eyes met… or was it just his imagination? “Well it’s not like we’re of their kind either, so...” he eluded.

She giggled this time, hiding it behind a polite hand. “That’s also true. But you see… we’re here in _their_ world.”

No doubt possible now, her smile _was_ getting wider. Why did it have to be so mesmerizing though?

            “And you know what they say…?” She winked and raised a finger. “When in Rome, you shall do as Romans do!”  To which she turned around. And gestured excitedly at the small white creatures.

            “Come on, do it guys!”

 

            “Hm? Do wh-”

An expression of utter perplexity painted the prince’s face there for a second. Firstly because he didn’t know of any place called Rome. Secondly, his brain could only proceed one thing at a time at that point and it definitely preferred focusing on the vaporous twirl of her skirt before anything else. But when he found himself tackled to the ground by no one else than the same three Hiso kids who stole his smartphone earlier, that did give him his neurons back.

            “- _aaAAATT!?!”_

A surprised ‘oof!’ punctuated the moment his back got introduced to the floor. Thank the gods it was soft moss down there and not one of these hard stone paths, or he would have been in _a lot_ of pain…

Here though, he only felt disoriented for a brief moment. Which was enough for the tiny bastards to make him their personal bench.

            “Wow- _hey now_ , I thought we discussed the whole ‘jumping on people without a warning’ thing alrea-”

Uh… hold on a second… why were they trying to… lift his T-shirt up now??

With an annoyed huff, he tried pushing it down, only for the creatures to go “hiso, hiso!” irritatingly at him and swat his hands away. His eyes narrowed threateningly. Oh _really_? This was how they wanted to play it, heh? Well they should learn not to mess with taller than themselves! His second try was a bit more forceful, but not wanting to hurt the small creatures, he still contained himself…

He shouldn’t have.

That must have been some sort of cue for more of them to hop onto him, and soon he ended up under a real pile of Hiso aliens. Round ‘paws’, soft as cotton wool, grabbed his flailing arms and pinned them down at his sides in a T-shape. Disturbingly easily...

Ok. Now the situation was starting to get worrisome.

            “Erm… Sarah? A little help here??”

            “Oh yes!” came the cheerful – too cheerful? – reply. “My pleasure, Noctis!”

He expected her to lift the Hisos off him… what she did was exactly the opposite. She knelt at his head. Smiled sweetly down at him. And… promptly rolled his T-shirt all the way up??

_WOWOWOWOW sexual assault much?!_

            “There!” she chirped, resting her hands on his shoulders. “All clear for the writing!”

Now please do note. Noctis might be a little dense sometimes, but despite what Gladiolus might say to annoy him, he wasn’t stupid. Not stupid enough, at least, to not understand where this was all going.

Writing.  
Hisos wearing their name on their belly.

Just then, his eyes caught sight of something in one of the creature’s hand. Something that looked terrifyingly close to a brush, of the calligraphy type. It really didn’t take a genius to put two and two together.

All the vehement protests he could have thought of were promptly buried under a pitiful whine.

….. Ooooh heavens _nope_.

 

            “W-wait, you can’t do that, I’m not even one of you g- _ahahaha!_ ”

Well apparently, Hiso or not, it didn’t matter: that name thing must have been of utmost importance for the small creatures. At least important enough to skip asking the main interested party’s opinion on getting written on… and ignore his protests too, while they were at it. Right. Why would they care, huh?

Noctis _did_ care though. He cared _a lot_ about how absurdly heavy these marshmallow-looking midgets weighted on him – so heavy he couldn’t lift one arm up an inch. He cared _even more_ about the ridiculously ticklish feeling of that simple brush on his skin, covering his belly in goose bumps in its wake. And he cared _impossibly deeply_ … about Sarah, of all people, being not only a witness but an active participant in his disgrace.

            “Awww look at youuu! Who would have thought you could look so cute!” … active participant _and_ totally enjoying it then. Great. “I had a hunch you wouldn’t like that whole treatment – for other reasons. But you being _ticklish_? Aww Noctis, this is adorable!”

The prince tried to growl, but with the Hiso adding a second letter on his sensitive belly, the result sound was less threatening than actually funny. For a moment he loathed every god he knew that his name was ‘Noctis’ and not, say, ‘ _Cor_ ’. That’d spare him half the torture. But on the other hand, it could also have been worse. At least he wasn’t named ‘Gladiolus’… or he would definitely have died from embarrassment before they reached the ‘l’.

            “ _Aack-!!_ ” Oh Six, they were getting to the bellybutton….! His whole body bucked off the ground in an effort to shake the creatures off him. But the best he managed was to ruin the Hiso’s writing. The creature gave an annoyed cry at the sight of that long trail of black ink going down to one hip. And Noctis was just a liiiittle inch away from shooting back a “serves you right!”… when he saw the creature’s expression… change? No, not visibly, but somehow he _felt_ the smirk behind that motionless face…

            “Hiso hisooo…” And just _what_ were they saying again?!!

            “Oh, good idea!” He hated the fact that only Sarah understood that ridiculous language. He hated it with a burning passion. And he was about to hate it even more. “We definitely should tire him up! Hehe, sorry Noctis, but we need you to cooperate!” she stated with a bright and oh-so wonderful smile… before her hands let go of his shoulders and dove to his open sides. “Coochie coochie cooo!”

Noctis’ cheeks flushed _crimson_.

Her delicate nails on his skin.

Her grinning face looking down at him.

Her _absolutely awful_ teasing.

This was all too much, wayyy too much for his sanity! Laughter completely escaped what pitiful control he still had over it this time, coming out in uncontrollable peals, the poor prince closing his eyes shut because _he couldn’t stand to see that ohmyfuckinggods-_

            “N-no, noho, Sa… Saraaaaah _STOP!_ Staha… I DIDN’T SIHIGN UP FOR THIIIS!!”

Of course the Hisos had to join in then, huh… as if the one now cleaning up the ink on his hip wasn’t being a little bitch already, insisting over the worst spots over and over again when Noctis just _knew_ there was nothing to wipe off anymore! But nooo, the rest probably decided their ‘champion’ deserved more torture. Some marshmallow hands soon began prodding and wriggling around in his armpits, some others along his thighs… and ok, goodbye cruel world, he was _done for_.

 

            For a long, horribly long time (at least for the poor prince), his very unmanly hysterics kept echoing in the clearing. At one point, even the non-participating Hisos came to watch the show, attracted by all that gleeful ruckus. Which would have been mortifying for Noctis… hadn’t he been too busy catching his breath when they finally stopped. His cheeks burnt a bright red, his hair a total mess – well, it was always a mess but this time it wasn’t an _organized_ mess. Tiny exhausted giggles still slipped from his lips, while the calligraphy-specialized Hiso got back to work. But he didn’t have enough energy left to struggle, and if that made the ordeal much more unebarable, that also meant he was done with it sooner.

Bless whatever god had some mercy for his poor soul…!

With their mission completed, one by one, the Hiso aliens jumped off their panting victim. Each waving or saying what could be interpreted as congratulations – for what, getting tickled to death?! Geez, thank you you little bastards… But, at least he was free, and only Sarah remained now. Contemplating the writing that decorated his skin, while gently pushing stray locks of black hair off his face.

And that, he had to admit, felt really nice.

            “Now now~” she cooed, giggling like the little minx she was. “That’s wasn’t so bad, was it? And now you fit right in!”

As if he _asked_ to fit! The Lucian prince only groaned in response. Shutting his eyes close again for a brief moment, and resting one arm over them. “Yeah… I fit…” he conceded. Then lifted his arm to shoot her a teasing glance. “…but you don’t. _Yet_.”

Oh, the look of sudden horror on her face… he could have snickered like a daemon at that sight.

            “Ah…! Hm, I… I-I have to go, bye!”

And off she went, running as if her life depended on it. She probably imagined Noctis would be too tired to get into a game of chase; and she was right, he sure felt drained after that impromptu tickle session. But she seemed to ignore some tiiiiny little details about him…

First, he would always, _always_ find a way to get revenge.

And second… he warped.

            “ _Eeeep-!_ ”

Her terrified squeak didn’t change anything; unfairly cute or not. The second he manifested behind her in a flash of blue, his arm wrapped around her chest, holding her against his body, and before she could even think about wiggling away... his free hand began clawing at her belly.

            “Eeeeek- _no!_ Noooo, NOCTIIIIIHIHIS!”

Aah, the sweet, oh-so sweet sound of _victory_ ~ This time, the prince did chuckle out loud. And proceeded to dig the hand holding her into her side for good measure. Heh, for now she only had him alone tickling her, not an army of evil marshmallows, so she stayed the more privileged of the two!

            “Why no? You seemed to think it was such a good idea, earlier?” he teased, breath hitting her ear, and oooh was that another nice spot? Because her knees seemed to buckle up, her body weight leaning fully on his arm for support, and she let out such a shrill yip… He just had to try again, blowing over the shell of her ear. The undignified complain he got then only confirmed his hunches.

            “YEEEP! Nohoctis I swear- aaAGH!!

            “You _swear_?” he faked shock, rolling his eyes. “Tss, how unladylike.”

Good thing she was turning her back to him now and couldn’t see just how much he was enjoying himself there. His grin only went wider as he increased the pressure of his fingers a tad bit more, finding her hips to earn him particularly strong responses, and her upper ribs to bring the cutest of snorts out of her. _Snorts_. Sarah _snorted_. That was the greatest discovery since television, and he felt like a freaking Nobel Prize for digging this piece of information out of her – quite literally.

It only took a couple seconds of that new combo to have her legs stop supporting her all together. Being the gentleman he was behind the tough façade, Noctis did his best to accompany her fall as carefully as he could. But would that make him stop? Oooh no. She woke up the daemon; now she would have to deal with it. With her down like this, cradled on his lap, he could grab a hold of her fruitlessly flailing arms and immobilize them up her head, leaving her torso fully exposed to his other hand. And why not nibble on her ear while he was at it.

 

            It took a while for him to fully realize. How indecently close they were here, with her body squirming about against his. How warm his chest felt, from hearing her adorably silly laugh and seeing all the grimaces she made.

How much he wanted to kiss the giggles straight-out of her mouth…

So he did.

He didn’t wait until his head started screaming at him that it wasn’t right, that they would part ways sooner than he could imagine. He followed his heart rather than reason. His lips found hers in a messy side kiss, and it was simply _fantastic_ … an explosion of colors and feelings and things he couldn’t even name. Her voice died on his tongue. Her body stopped struggling. Her hands, rather than fight his hold, slipped out of his now slack fingers to lost themselves in his hair.

And it was good.

And it was right.

And it was everything he always wanted, since the moment they met, without feeling brave enough to admit it…

            “Hiso! Hiso!”

… Oh shit. Right. They had a fucking _audience_.

Two sets of eyes went wide simultaneously, and they parted as quickly as it all started. Looking at each other with burning cheeks and a sheepish look.

            “Ahem… s-so…” Noctis cleared his throat. He should look away. He really should. But her smile got him mesmerized once again, and instead he just kept staring and smiled back. Like the absolutely idiot in love he was.

            “Y-yes, hehe…” Sarah giggled awkwardly. Blushing so much her whole face seemed to glow, up to the tip of her ears – _ticklish_ ears, he corrected inside; cutest information of the century.  “So…”

            “The Eroder.”

            “Yes, absolutely. The Eroder. That’s our job. We need to…”

            “Yeah… We need…”

They needed. Sure. But once it would be done, they would have to return to their original worlds. So… it could wait a little… right? And Sarah didn’t seem ready to move from his lap so soon.

The little white aliens were all around them though. Clearly intrigued and curious at their champions’ antics. And honestly, Noctis _kiiinda_ wanted to murder them right then because _five minutes!_ Five freaking minutes of peace, you goddamn Pokémons! It wasn’t asking too much, was it?! But at the same time… he owed the Hisos, for making the two of them meet in the first place. Yeah. That would spare them the slaughter… _for now._

  
            “Uhm…” Her voice pushed back all negative thoughts in an instant, and _fuck_ , now he wanted to kiss her again. They weren’t leaving this clearing, ever.

            “Noctis?” she continued. “Would you mind… helping me up?”

            “Ah, sure.” A world to save. Again. Time was ticking out, but… rather than doing as she asked, he just stayed there. Fingers lacing with hers. “… in a minute.”

Her blue-grey eyes showed clear surprise. A pleasant surprise, from what he could tell. “Why…?”

That smile on her face soon fell though. When his own gentle expression turned devilish, and his hold on her hands tightened to keep her there.

            “Because, Miss ‘let’s-fit-in’… you still lack a name, just, _there._ ”

And his fingers were back on her belly. Her dorky laugh filled the air once again. The Hisos came running with their brush. And the following minutes turned to a mess of limbs flailing and ink flying all over the place.

In this odd world, it was their own name they bore on their skin.

But once they would be back to the places they belonged to, Noctis knew it… it would definitely be Sarah’s name he would bring back with him.  
Etched deep in his heart.

**Author's Note:**

> I loved, loved, LOVED that quest, you have no idea! Noctis and Sarah have the cutest dynamic, and they have to kiss and be happy together. Period. lol  
> Hence the absolutely pointless and silly fluff~  
> I hope you enjoyed the read ^^ (despite the disgustingly soppy ending haha... I'm sorry)


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